There's more to Dublin than just Guinness. Doesn't mean you can't have at least one, though. Here's your essential guide on where to eat, drink and stay in Dublin, Ireland

Eat

Talk of the town at the moment is SMS (supermisssue.com) which is comprised of three restaurants depending on your mood: Super Miss Sue (casual dining seafood cafe), Cervi (a fish and chip shop – Dublin’s best) and Luna (1950s-style Italian-inspired fine dining option where wait-staff and bartenders wear maroon velvet blazers and bow ties, with the same creepy carpet featured in The Shining). Bunsen is the undoubted burger king of Dublin (bunsen.ie), offering its diners one of two simple options, with cheese or without. Dubliners are strangely passionate about chicken wings, and Blue Bar serves up the best, in a coastal harbour setting in Skerries (bluebar.ie). The burrito has replaced the potato as the Irish staple, with a burrito bar on almost every street, and Boojum on Aungier Street (boojummex.com) is top dog, with staff wearing comedy t-shirts emblazoned with “Guac is extra... I KNOW!”.

The burrito has replaced the potato as the Irish staple, with a burrito bar on almost every street

For a proper Irish breakfast, get out to the Chuck Wagon and try soda farls stuffed with bacon and sausages. And pick up some bags of Tayto crisps to bring home – the Irish swear by them (as do we, when we can get them).

Stay

The Morgan Boutique Hotel is Dublin’s coolest boarding house at the moment (themorgan.com). Every room is decorated with strange and intriguing pieces from home-grown artists and the Morgan Bar, with a live DJ and saxophone player, is usually packed and on wheels (think Aristocats-style house parties). If you’re spending big, then why not cosy up in a favourite for international celebrities and book a room at the Merrion (merrionhotel.com). Avalon House on Aungier Street is the cheaper option: a loud and lively hostel right in the city centre, it also boasts a trendy cafe (avalon-house.ie). If you’re too-cool-for-school (like, er, us), check out, or check into, the Dean Hotel on Harcourt Street – a great location for nightclubs and bars, though the football table means you might never leave (deanhoteldublin.ie).

Drink

Dublin’s not really a great city to go out drinking in, sadly. Wait, hang on, scratch that. It’s the BEST city to go out drinking in. You can never go wrong in a Dublin pub and most places never disappoint. Mulligans on Poolbeg Street (mulligans.ie) is a hidden-away boozer that’s full of history (James Joyce wrote many stories there). The Irish craft beer industry is soaring and P. Macs has plenty of the stuff on tap – don’t order a Heineken, they’ll laugh you out the door.

P. Macs has craft beer on tap – don’t order a Heineken, they’ll laugh you out the door

Peruke and Periwig on Dawson Street will send you back to Georgian Dublin with its interior, and also serves the city’s best cocktails (peruke.ie). Xico (xico.ie) is a Mexican-themed underground late-bar where anything goes (patrons dance along the bar and swing from the low ceiling with full permission). The Dingle Whiskey Bar on Nassau Street serves Irish hand-crafted whiskey and vodka made in Kerry, which is delicious, of course. For a rock fix, try out the Gypsy Rose on the quays in Liffey where you’ll hear Dylan and Patti Smith and look at (or buy) work from local artists. Head downstairs after a few and it’s a bit more hardcore – with a DJ called DJ Sugartits, you know you’re in for a crazy night (gypsyrose.ie). If that sounds like your idea of hell, then Crowbar is a lovely chilled option. And relax…

Do

Many of Dublin’s golf courses had to close during the 2008 recession. The good news is some have reopened as Foot-Tee (or Football Golf) courses – the latest craze to take over the city; head to Deer Park in Howth for a round with panoramic views (deerpark-hotel.ie). At Dublin’s Silicon Docks you can test your watersports skills at Wakedock, a wakeboard park surrounded by high-rise office buildings (wakedock.ie).

Forty Foot on the coast in Sandycove was once a men’s only nude bathing spot, until the 1970s, when naked woman made a splash with a successful protest. The iconic swimming spot now welcomes everyone, naked or not. Make sure you leave time to say hello to the statue of Oscar Wilde and walk past the Dermot Morgan (Father Ted) memorial in Merrion Square, Dublin’s most famous Georgian park.

Shop

A visit to the George’s Street Arcade and surrounding areas will reward shoppers with the best vintage stores in Dublin (georgesstreetarcade.ie). More upmarket, and across the road, is the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, full of boutique Irish designers and name-brand stores including All Saints. Venture another 200 yards down the street and you’re at Avoca, which sells high-quality Irish craft furniture, artwork and handmade clothing (the food there is also top quality).

The Celtic Whiskey Shop on Dawson Street has a huge selection of the famous Irish juice

Books Upstairs (booksirish.com) on D’Olier Street (dull-ear street), and The Winding Stair (also a restaurant), just across from the iconic Ha’Penny Bridge on the northern side of the River Liffey, have the best collections of Irish and world literature (winding-stair.com). The Celtic Whiskey Shop on Dawson Street has a huge selection of the famous Irish juice. Whiskey in Irish is uisce beatha, which aptly translates to ‘water of life’ in English. (celticwhiskeyshop.com)

See

The beautifully serene Iveagh Gardens are right in the heart of the city, and are unchanged since the likes of Oscar Wilde played on the lawns as a toddler. The Bord Gais (pronounced gosh) Energy Theatre is in the centre of the newly urbanised Dublin docklands, known to locals as ‘Silicon Docks’ because Google and Facebook have their EU headquarters there. Go to the Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar and check out a great art exhibition or live theatrical performances – it’s impossible to keep up with the ever-changing schedule (projectartscentre.ie). The Gate Theatre on O’Connell Street has a wealth of history and showcases not only some of the finest stage talent in the country, but international stars, too – they all love coming to the small venue to delight the appreciative audiences (gatetheatre.ie). For an afternoon of unbridled Irish sporting passion, join 90,000 fans for a Gaelic football match at Croke Park (crokepark.ie).

Getting there

Ryanair offers return flights from £15, ryanair.com; for more information visit tourismireland.com and visitdublin.com; also follow @TourismIreland and
@VisitDublin on Twitter